Communication

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Communication

• Is a symbolic process using symbols with SHARED
  MEANING to exchange ideas and information.
• MASS COMMUNICATION-(in general) requires symbols
  that can be relevant to a mass audience that is

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Mass Audience symbols

• Highly Diverse

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Mass Audience symbols

• Highly Diverse
• Widely Diffused

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Mass Audience symbols

• Highly Diverse
• Widely Diffused
• Easily Distracted

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Mass Audience symbols

• Highly Diverse
• Widely Diffused
• Easily Distracted
• Increasing Fragmented

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Media Criticism Com 327

• Mass Communication defined

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Media Criticism Com 327

• Mass Communication defined
• Mass communication occurs when a small number of
  people send messages to a large anonymous and
  usually heterogeneous audience through the use of
  specialized communication media.

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Media Criticism Com 327

• Mass Communication defined
• The units of analysis for mass communication are
  the messages, the mediums, and the audience.

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Media Criticism

• Understanding the MESSAGE
• Teleliteracy
• Visual literacy
• TV Programs and their styles

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Media Criticism

• Understanding the AUDIENCE
• Identification/Classification
• Consumption
• Measurement

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Media Criticism

• Understanding the MEDIUM (Television)
• Transmission
• Reception
• History

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Television viewing appears to be effortless. To
some extent it is, but it requires a set of
skills referred to as Teleliteracy and Visual
Literacty
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THE MESSAGE

• Teleliteracy
• The understanding of visual and aural production
  techniques not available in human perception and
  not a part of our physiological and psychological
  repertoire

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Unnatural elements

• The Point of view editing in cinema
  verite(Pictorial storytelling)

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Unnatural elements

• The Point of view editing in cinema
  verite(Pictorial storytelling)
• Time Manipulation
• -Flashback, time leaps,dreams sequences,time lags.

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Unnatural elements

• The Point of view editing in cinema
  verite(Pictorial storytelling)
• Time Manipulation
• Extreme perspectives
• -extreme zooms, aerial views, fast/slo mo,
• replays

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Unnatural elements

• The Point of view editing in cinema
  verite(Pictorial storytelling)
• Time Manipulation
• Extreme perspectives
• Audio tracks
• -laugh tracks, mood music, voice overs,
  transistions

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Unnatural elements

• The Point of view editing in cinema
  verite(Pictorial storytelling)
• Time Manipulation
• Extreme perspectives
• Audio tracks
• Segmentation/discontinuity
• -scene to scene, show to show, episode to episode
  to episode

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Acquired knowledge

• Repeated exposure
• Assimilation (making sense of collective whole)
• Suspension of disbelief
• Cognitive Complacency

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THE MESSAGE

• VISUAL LITERACY
• The Physiological Psychological skill necessary
  to visual scan, mentally perceive understand
  the outside world
• or
• The application of real world perceptual
  abilities to TVs 2 dimensional world

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THE MESSAGE

• VISUAL LITERACY
• Acquired and mastered through social experience
  Interaction
• Applicable to TV Presentation/storytelling that
  replicate real world experience (
  Verisimilitude-appears real)

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DimensionLife is 3D, TV is 2D so we must apply
our real world visual literacy to the TV World
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DimensionLife is 3D, TV is 2D so we must apply
our real world visual literacy to the TV World

• Binocular Disparity- the ability to focus on an
  object within a wide range of vision, giving it
  clarityCamera lens

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DimensionLife is 3D, TV is 2D so we must apply
our real world visual literacy to the TV World

• Binocular Disparity
• Motion Parallax Understanding that closer
  objects move faster within field of vision. (TV
  is flat.. No distance just illusion of it.

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DimensionLife is 3D, TV is 2D so we must apply
our real world visual literacy to the TV World

• Binocular Disparity
• Motion Parallax
• Occlusion Closerbigger, capable of blocking
  sight of further objects

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DimensionLife is 3D, TV is 2D so we must apply
our real world visual literacy to the TV World

• Binocular Disparity
• Motion Parallax
• Occlusion
• Paraproxemics- Closeness intimacy
• Distance, camera anglespower, Dutch
  anglesomething is wrong batman.
• The Graduate Push Nevada

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DimensionLife is 3D, TV is 2D so we must apply
our real world visual literacy to the TV World

• Binocular Disparity
• Motion Parallax
• Occlusion
• Paraproxemics
• Perceptual continuity-Point of sight, we tend to
  focus on objects of importance, dominance,
  attention ie phone ring,

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DimensionLife is 3D, TV is 2D so we must apply
our real world visual literacy to the TV World

• Binocular Disparity
• Motion Parallax
• Occlusion
• Paraproxemics
• Perceptual continuity
• EXPERIENCING THESE IN THE REAL WORLD ALLOWS OUR
  UNDERSTANDING OF THESE ON TV
• Easy transference..Mr Rodgers, West Wing

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MotionHead/eyes replaced by the Camera/lens

• Pan/tilt
• Dolly
• trucking
• Zoom
• Crane
• Wire cameras Sports applications

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HOW do we make TV?
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How do we make TV?

• By pulling from symbols that reflect both
  internal reality and external reality creating
  an interaction of the two.
• A balance of part fantasy/part reality

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Reality breakdown

• Internal reality
• -artistic expression
• -creative enterprise
• -existing technology
• -storytelling devices
• -budget

• External reality
• -The human conditions we share
• -The times in history we share

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Reality breakdown

• Internal reality
• -narrative structure
• -plot convention
• -time frames-length
• -dramatic formal
• -Institutional constraints-fines

• External reality
• -societal norms
• -legal system
• -cultural values
• -rites and rituals
• -fads and fashions

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TV PROGRAMS

• NON-NARRATIVE

• NARRATIVE

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TV PROGRAMS

• NON-NARRATIVE
• -non-scripted stories
• -social actors
• -directly address/ acknowledge audience
• -cheap to produce

• NARRATIVE

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TV PROGRAMS

• NON-NARRATIVE
• -non-scripted stories
• -social actors
• -directly address/ acknowledge audience
• -cheap to produce

• NARRATIVE
• -scripted story
• -episodic
• -actors-recurring cast

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Genre/Types of programs

• NON-NARRATIVE

• NARRATIVE

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Genre/Types of programs

• NON-NARRATIVE
• -talk shows
• -game shows
• -sports
• -reality

• NARRATIVE

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Genre/Types of programs

• NON-NARRATIVE
• -talk shows
• -game shows
• -sports
• -reality

• NARRATIVE
• Comedy
• -cartoons
• -Seinfeld
• Drama
• -soap
• -family
• -SCI-FI

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Genre Evolution

• Caused by Audience expectations due to
  sophistication/boredom/competition

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Genre Evolution

• Primitive Original rules derived from old
  medium

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Genre Evolution

• Primitive Original rules derived from old
  medium
• Classical Matured and firmly established rules

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Genre Evolution

• Primitive Original rules derived from old
  medium
• Classical Matured and firmly established rules
• Revisionist experimentation, bending or
  breaking of rules (genre bending) ie
• firefly sci-fi-western, Mary Hartman
  comedy-soap

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Genre Evolution

• Primitive Original rules derived from old
  medium
• Classical Matured and firmly established rules
• Revisionist experimentation, bending or
  breaking of rules (Genre Bending)
• Paradic makes fun of firmly established rules

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Genre Evolution Examples

• SITCOM
• I love Lucy
• Father knows Best
• Roseanne
• Married.with children

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Genre Evolution Examples

• Western
• Lone Ranger
• Gunsmoke
• Wild, Wild West
• F-Troop

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Genre Evolution Examples

• Comedy/Variety
• Your Show of Shows
• Carole Burnett Show
• SNL
• Dana Carvey Taco Bell hour

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Genre Evolution Examples

• Reality
• Candid Camera
• Cops
• Survivor
• Joe Schmoe

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TV Programs are unique commodities

• Immaterial

• No Physical properties of ownership

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TV Programs are unique commodities

• Immaterial
• Novel

• No Physical properties of ownership
• One time event

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TV Programs are unique commodities

• Immaterial
• Novel
• Nonexclusive

• No Physical properties of ownership
• One time event
• FREE for all

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TV Programs are unique commodities

• Immaterial
• Novel
• Nonexclusive
• Near-zero Marginal cost

• No Physical properties of ownership
• One time event
• FREE for All

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TV Programs are unique commodities

• Immaterial
• Novel
• Nonexclusive
• Near-zero Marginal cost
• Rapid Product Innovation
• Short Shelf life

• No Physical properties of ownership
• One time event
• FREE for All
• Value diminishes if not ever changing
• Odds for failure are great

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Television in particular requires that the
audience

• Return week after week
• Season after season
• Same time, same channel

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TV Programs audience

• Consumer

• Consumed

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TV Programs audience

• Consumer
• Target audience
• Voluntary
• Communal, yet isolated
• Selective, yet uncritical
• Delivered programs

• Consumed

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TV Programs audience

• Consumer
• Target audience
• Voluntary
• Communal, yet isolated
• Selective, yet uncritical
• Delivered programs

• Consumed
• Target manipulated
• Demographic 18-49
• Delivered to advertisers

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